entfaltetvsenthaltenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“entfaltet” and “enthalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#15,873
“entfaltet” frequency rank
#1,658
“enthalten” frequency rank
17531
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entfaltet enthalten
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs entfalten so beschaffen sein, dass das eine (mit dem stets nötigen Akkusativ-Objekt Bezeichnete) ein Teil des anderen (des mit dem Subjekt Bezeichneten) ist; einen Inhalt haben; bestehen aus

Where the eye mixes entfaltet and enthalten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. entfaltet and enthalten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
entfaltet
9 ch
enthalten

Why the eye confuses entfaltet with enthalten

A purely visual mix-up. entfaltet ([ɛntˈfaltət]) and enthalten ([ɛntˈhaltn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17531, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entfaltet is recorded at frequency rank #15,873, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈfaltət]. enthalten is at rank #1,658, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈhaltn̩].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 17531, this pair ranks #1,926,560 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entfaltet vs enthalten

Shared letters: aelnt. Private to "entfaltet": f. Private to "enthalten": h.

"entfaltet" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "enthalten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entfaltet ← enftaltet · enntfaltet · entafltet · entfalett · entfalltet · entfaltett · entfaltte · entfalttet
  • enthalten ← enhtalten · ennthalten · entahlten · enthaletn · enthallten · enthaltenn · enthaltne · enthaltten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entfaltet" and "enthalten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈfaltət] versus [ɛntˈhaltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "entfaltet" or "enthalten"?
"enthalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,658 in our German list, against #15,873 for "entfaltet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entfaltet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "enthalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,926,560 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entfaltet" and "enthalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entfaltet vs entfaltete". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,926,560 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list